Spoiled Milk

Iced coffee is an essential part of my day.

My priorities in the morning usually revolve around time with Jesus, a shower, and then my beloved iced coffee. Recently, my daily cup of caffeine turned into a catastrophe. I had all the ingredients I needed: mason jar, ice, metal straw, day-old Starbucks cold brew, and a spoonful of sugar. The last piece to this much-needed puzzle was a generous splash of milk. I poured in the milk, gave it a stir, and took a big sip. The pungent taste of sour milk filled my mouth and with a gag, I spat the coffee into the sink. What was supposed to be a beautiful start to the day, ended up a sour mess. It was then that I checked the bottle and realized this milk was far past the expiration date, and it was time to toss the now chunky liquid.

I pray you’ve never experienced something like this, but if you have, you know my horror. There is something so unfortunate about preparing a perfect drink, meal, or snack, and watching as one wrong ingredient spoils it all. Maybe it’s expired milk or accidental use of salt instead of sugar, or maybe you underestimated the power of red pepper flakes.

Sometimes one wrong thing can ruin something that was supposed to be beautiful.

Sometimes our hearts are like this. Sometimes one thing - a betrayal, a trauma, a mistake, an accident - spoils everything else. We find ourselves bitter, angry, impatient, and desperately looking for escapes. When we dig deep into this root of bitterness, we discover the hurt over something that was taken from us or something we desperately wish wouldn’t have happened.

We hold onto the divorce, or the rejection, or the job loss, and we find ourselves angry at everyone and willing to accept any worldly idol to find that thing we lost. What was an incident from the past has now become spoiled milk, and it’s contaminating every single part of your life. The pain from your failed marriage is now permeating your parenting. The frustration over mental health struggles is now causing you to lash out at friends and destroy relationships

Friend, God has destined you to be something beautiful. He has made you in his image. He wants to change eternity through you. He wants you to be one heck of a cup of iced coffee. But if we throw in spoiled milk, without any care or thought, we risk ruining the whole thing.

If we navigate life ruminating on our hurts instead of seeking genuine healing, we will live a life of bitterness instead of beauty.

It’s not easy. It is so hard. Because spoiled milk tastes STRONG. Your pain is intense and real and valid. But we don’t have to let it take over the whole recipe. We can experience the pain, honor it, process it, give it to Jesus over and over until the taste isn’t so strong. Until we’re overwhelmed by it less often.

We can choose beauty over bitterness, forgiveness over anger, and trusting Jesus over holding the pain alone.

God saves us and forgives us. He doesn’t hold bitterness and resentment against our sins, He loves us at our weakest. And then He calls us to love like him:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.

- Ephesian 2:8

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

- John 13:34

I wonder what it might look like in your life, to forgive that person that hurt you, that situation that changed you, or that time that you failed yourself. It doesn’t mean we excuse it, it doesn’t mean we don’t set up good boundaries, but it does mean we stop holding ourselves captive and instead choose the freedom of Christ. Lewis B. Smeades says it best:

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that prisoner was you.”

With Christ’s strength, we can let go of the spoiled milk, and enjoy the beauty of iced coffee.

Cristina Schmitter

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